FILE–Justin Brownlee of the Philippine males’s basketball workforce in motion throughout the nineteenth Asian Video games 2023 Males’s Basketball Preliminary Spherical Group C match between Philippines and Bahrain on the Hangzhou Olympic Sports activities Centre Gymnasium. (Picture by Luis Veniegra / SOPA Pictures/Sipa USA)
MANILA, Philippines–Gilas Pilipinas ace Justin Brownlee arrived to a hero’s welcome at Ninoy Aquino Worldwide Airport early Sunday morning nonetheless awestruck over the workforce’s golden run within the nineteenth Asian Video games.
“It feels nice to be again residence and produce again gold for the followers and for the folks right here within the Philippines to see,” Brownlee advised reporters.
“Man, I nonetheless can’t consider it to be sincere. It’s such a surreal second,” mentioned the naturalized ahead, on whose shoulders a rapidly assembled nationwide workforce stood to ship its first Asiad basketball gold shortly.
Brownlee was regular for Tim Cone and a crew that featured Ange Kouame and a bevy of standouts from the Philippine Basketball Affiliation. He performed his most interesting towards China, the place he erupted for 33 factors to stun the host and prepare a rematch towards Jordan for the highest prize.
A resident import for Cone’s Barangay Ginebra, the do-it-all ahead has additionally delivered unforgettable moments for his PBA membership, the nationwide workforce on the 2 remaining Fiba home windows earlier this yr, and within the Southeast Asian Video games staged in Cambodia.
However this latest feat in Hangzhou “obtained to be up there on the high.”
“Regardless of every little thing with (this system’s) historical past, 60 some years, and 30 years attempting to get to a medal match. It’s undoubtedly on the market. It was an eight-year drought for Ginebra however 61 years? Man, that’s particular,” he mentioned.
Justin Brownlee and Gilas Pilipinas have fun victory after the Basketball – Males’s Semi-final match between Philippines and China on day 11 of the nineteenth Asian Video games at Hangzhou Olympic Sports activities Centre Gymnasium on October 4, 2023 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province of China. (Picture by CHINASPORTS/VCG )
So particular that he deserves to have a statue in his likeness constructed?
“Man, that might be unbelievable,” he mentioned with a chuckle. “I by no means dreamed of getting a statue wherever on the earth. However that might be a dream come true. A really particular factor.”
“I don’t know the way I’ll really feel or how I’ll even react, however I’ll undoubtedly be speechless and left amazed.”
From being a brief import for the Gin Kings to changing into a legendary determine within the nationwide workforce’s historical past ebook may simply flip that concept right into a actuality.
However Brownlee has by no means been about that type of validation.
“Like I mentioned, I’m nonetheless shocked. It feels so surreal. I can’t consider that I’m standing earlier than you guys speaking a few gold medal,” he mentioned.
“You realize, again in my first time coming to the Philippines—these tales from Sol (Mercado), even another guys like LA (Tenorio) who discuss [anecdotes of my laughable beginnings] as properly—it’s all wonderful. However being right here, on this place at the moment is such a surreal second.”
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“However you understand, I simply obtained to maintain working and preserve getting higher. That’s what I’ve been attempting to do from Day 1 coming to the Philippines,” Brownlee mentioned with a smile.
